Emulsifying process and multistage emusifier



Patented Feb. 3,1925. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CYRUS HOWARD HAPGOOD, O'F NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY. ASSIGNOR TO THE DELAVAL SEPARATOR COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

EMULSIFYING PROCESS AND MULTISTAGE EMUSIFIER.

Application filed February 20, 1924. Serial No. 694,007.

l all whom it may concern: imposed one upon another. I have shown Be it known that I, CYRUS HOWARD HAP- one such additional shell (6). The to soon, a citizen of the United States, residing shell 0 is closed by a cover it through whic at Nutley. county of Essex, and State of the shaft 9 extends. The cover it is pro- New Jersey, have invented a new and useful vided with marginal lugs Vertical rods 60 Improvement in Emulsifying Processes and 7c connect upper lugs j and lower lugs 2'. Multistage Emulsifiers, of which the follow- By adjusting a thumb nut m. the shells may ing is a full. clear. and exact description, be secured together liquid-tight. reference being had to the accompanying The cover 72, is provided on its upper face 1 drawings, which form a part of this speciwith an internally threaded annular pro-1 fication. jection n, in which is threaded a bearin 0 The object of my invention is to efl'ect adapted to support the upper end of %he the emulsification of ingredients which are shaft. By adjusting this hearing, the vertinot readily emulsifiable, or which cannot cal position of the shaft may be nicely adbe emulsified at all, in an ordinary emulsijusted. tier. To the shaft is secured a number of discs The following examples may be given of 25 corresponding to the number of shell botingredients that, with ordinary emulsifiers, tom orifices. Each disc is bevelled downare difficult or impossible to emulsify: ward and outward at an angle corresp0nd- Milk oil comprises substantially pure ing to the bevel of the walls of the central 75 butter'fat, or milk from which have been orifices in the shells and is of a diameter extracted water, casein, albumen and salts. corresponding to the diameter of such ori- Processes have been perfected for the manufices. The shaft may be-so adjusted vertifacture of milk oil, but the successful comcally that the discs may almost register with mercial exploitation of the process is made the orifices, so as to leave an annular space practically impossible because of the difbetween each disc and the wall of its correficulty of producing a stable emulsion of spending orifice-z the ordinary .width of milk oil with water and milk powder. such annular spacebeing too narrow to be In. the manufacture of oleomargarine, accurately illustrated.

30 great difiiculty is experienced in emulsifying There is thus provlded a vessel contain oleo oil, albumen and water. in; a number of compartments superimposed By the use of my jnvention, permanent one upon another adjacent compartments emulsions of the above, sets of ingredients being closed from intercommunication exmay be readily produced. Its utility, howcept through the narrow annular space dean ever. is not limited to the production of scribed. The wall of each shell except the the particular emulsions specified. lowest is provided with a threaded orifice A preferred embodiment f my mul ia adapted to receive the end of a pipe stage emulsifier is disclosed in the a'ccomnot shown), Which may be connected with panying drawing, in whicha source of supply of' one or more of the 40 Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the ing dients of the proposed emulsion. The

em lsifi rwall of the lowest shell is provided with a Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section. similar threaded orifice o adapted for con- On a base a s m unted a casing I) havnection with a vessel intended to receive ing an open top and a closed bottom and th final emulsion.

5 provided with spaced marginal lugs z and If an emulsifiable mixture of liquids be 7 abearing'f for an upright shaft 9. Mounted d itted t any compartment and if t e on casing b is a shell 0 having an open top shaft be rotated. at a high rate of speed, 7 and an inwardly, extending annular flange the mixture, as it flows through the nar- 0', which provides a partition 01' bottom row annular space between the rapidly r0- 50 having a central orifice of great diameter. tating disc and the stationary bottom of -The edge of the ring flange is bevelled downthe compartment, will be thoroughly emulwardand outward at a considerable angle sified. An emulsifier embodying this prin- (say 60) to the axis of the shaft g. A ciple of construction and operation is not, similar shell d is mounted on shell 0. Any however, my invention, and is not herein 55 number of such shells may be thus superclaimed per se. u no With my multiple emulsifier, however, I have discovered that if (say) two ingreclients (or one ingredient and part of another) of an emulsion of three ingredients compartment.

(which are difficult or impossible to emulsify in an ordinary emulsifier) are admitted to one compartment, and are emulsified and pass to the next compartn'ient and it into the next compartment is admitted the third ingredient, or the third ingredient and another part of the second, all three ingredients will emulsi'l'y .in their passage from the second compartment to .the third and the emulsion will be practically permanent. I have also discovered that in some cases, the stability of the emulsion may be increased if it is run through a third compartment into one or more other compartments if additional volumes of one or more ingredients are introduced to the third compartment.

Thus, the apparatus illustrated, with its four compartments and its three emulsia fying elements, are particularly adapted to the production of a practically permanent emulsion of milkoil, milk powder and water. milk powder and water to flow (preferably by gravity) into the upper compartment, this compartment being maintained full. The. milk powder and water will be thoroughly emulsified in their passage through the upper emulsifying element, forming skim milk. A mixture of milk oil and water continuously flows into the second compartment. The skim milk and milk oil will be thorou hly emulsified in" their passage through the second emulsifying element, forming milk containing a considerable proportion of cream. A mixture of milk oil and water continuously flows into the third All the. ingredients will thoroughly cmulsi'fy in their passage through the third emulsifying clement, proucing cream containing a good percentage of butter fat. The percentage of butter fat in theresultant cream may be regulated by the percentage of milk oil that is admitted to the several compartments below the top compartment. It is of distinct advantage to admit the milk oil to a succession of compartments rather than to admit it all to a single compartment.

My compound emulsifier is not only of advantage in that it effects a stable emuls ionfof many mixtures of ingredients that are not readily emulsifiable, but the construction is such that the process is abso lutely continuous. In many cases, this continuity in the emulsifying action is essential to success:'-

It will be understood that the process herein claimed is not dependent for its execution on any particular construction of emulsifying apparatus. It will also be under- To make such an emulsion, I cause vided with bevelled slightly from the bevelled walls of the respective orifices to form a plurality of stood, that, in carrying out my process, I do not. contemplate. merely subjecting the same mixtures of ingredients, in the same proportions, to a succession of emulsifying op erations. Such mode of operation would not produce a stable emulsion in the case of mixtures of ingredients like those herein specified. In my process, on the contrary, it is characteristic of the several successive emulsifying operations that they shall ei'nulsitydifi'erent combinations of ingredients or different proportions of the same con'ibination of ingredients. This requirement involves the flowing of a separate stream of an ingredient. or of a mixture of ingredients. toward, and its admixture with. a previously produced emulsion. For example, in the emulsion of milk oil,,milk powder and water, as preferably practiced, two of the ing1'edicnts-water and milk powderare emulsified in the first stage: and the emulsion of these two ingredients mixed with the third ingredient'milk oil and part of the-first ingredientwater are emulsified in the second stage; while in the third stage. although the same ingredients are emulsified as in the second stage, the proportions of the ingredients are substantially different from those of the second stag Of course, the number of stages, the precise order of adding ingredients, and the proportions added, are variable factors even in the case of this particular emulsion; and no more precise directions need be given for this or any other desired emulsion, as the matter is one well within the skill of one versed in any particular art to which the. invention may be applied. Q

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A multi-stage emulsifier comprising a vessel provided with cross partitions forming three or more compartments, said partitions being provided with central orifices having bevelled walls, a revoluble shaft extending through said compartments, discs revoluble with the shaft and corresponding in number with said partitions and properipheries spaced separate emulsifying elements, one end compartment having anorifice for the discharge of the emulsion, while the other compartments have orifices for the admission of ingredients of the emulsion, whereby the ingradients of the emulsion may be introduced in varying combinations or proportions to a plurality of compartments, so that the successive emulsifying elements will emulsify difi'erent combinations and proportions of ingredients.

2. A multi-stage emulsifier comprising a series of three or more compartments, and emulsifiers connecting ad acent compartments, thereby permitting the continuous introduction of ingredients of the emulsion in varying combinations or proportions to all of the compartments except one end compartment and the, continuous removal of the final emulsion from the last named compartment.

3. A multi-stage emulsifier comprising a lower casing having a closed bottom and an open top, a series of cylindrical-like shells mounted one upon another, said series of shells. being mounted on said casin each shell of said series having an inwardly extending ring flange bevelled along its edge, a cover mounted on the top. shell, means to secure said shells and lower casing together, a revoluble shaft extending through said casing and all the shells, and discs on the shaft having bevelled edges in cooperative relation with the bevelled edges of the respecting ring flange.

4. The continuous process of emulsifying ingredients that are not readily emulsifiable, which comprises continuously conveying separate streams of ingredients toward successive loci of emulsification, emulsifying the ingredients conveyed toward the first of said loci, and emulsifying the resultant emulsion with the separate stream conveyed toward the second locus.

5. The process of emulsifying ingredients that are not readily emulsifiable,-which comprises subjecting .twoor more ingredients to a plurality of emulsifying operations in a continuous and successive manner, and continuously adding to the progressing emulsion, between each two loci of emulsification, one or more ingredients.

6. The process of emulsifying threevor more ingredients that are not readily emulsifiable, which comprises continuously conveying certain of said ingredients toward a locus of emulsification, subjecting said ingredients to an emulsifying operation, continuously conveying the emulsion resulting from said operation toward another locus while continuously mixing with said emulsion another ingredient, and subjecting to an emulsifying operation the mixture of the said emulsion and the. last named ingredient.

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, at New York, onthis 1st day of February, 1924.

CYRUS HOWARD HAPGOOD. Witnesses:

7B. R. WARREN, G. D. TAIIMAN. 

